The Rejected Luna CH41 -CH50
1283 Words
*Chapter 41: Ash and Stars*
They ran for 3 days.
No palace. No guards. Just *Mara * and Damien, hands linked, sharing every bruise.[Kiara]
They slept in abandoned barns. Ate berries. When the chain pulled too hard, they’d stop and press foreheads together until the pain eased.
On the third night, under the stars, Damien broke first.
“I can feel you in me,” he whispered. “Your fear. Your hope. It’s loud.”
*Mara * smiled tired. “Welcome to my head, Prince.”[Kiara]
He kissed her knuckles. “I wouldn’t trade it.”
Far away, the palace torches were searching the forests.
---
*Chapter 42: The Village of Salt*
They found a village called Saltbrook. People were poor but kind.
An old healer named Nara took one look at them and said nothing. Just gave them bread and a room.
That night *Mara * threw up.
Damien panicked. “The curse? Are you hurt?”
“No,” *Mara * said, hand on her stomach. Confused. “I think... I think I’m sick?”[Kiara]
Nara heard and came in. She looked at *Mara *, then at the faint black chain glow under their skin where they held hands.
“Child,” she said softly. “When did you last bleed?”
*Mara * went still. 2 months ago.
Nara nodded. “You’re with child.”
The room went silent.
Damien looked like he’d been hit. “What? But the curse—”
“Is now in two bodies,” Nara said. “And now... maybe three.”
*Mara * pressed a hand to her stomach. A tiny flutter. Or was that her imagination?
“*Mara Kiara*,” she whispered. “A baby.”[Kiara]
Damien sank to his knees and put his hand over hers. He was shaking.
“We can’t have a baby,” he said. “The palace will kill it. The curse will—”
“Then we protect it,” *Mara * said. Fierce. “Same way we protect each other.”[Kiara]
---
*Chapter 43: The First Kick*
Weeks passed. *Mara *’s belly started to round.
The chain glow faded a little. The curse was confused. It didn’t know how to feed from 3 hearts.[Kiara]
Damien became obsessed with keeping her safe. He learned to cook. He built her a bed from hay and blankets. He talked to her stomach at night.
“Hey little tyrant,” he’d murmur. “Your mom is the bravest person I know. Try to be like her, okay?”
*Mara * would roll her eyes and kick him. “Don’t fill her head with prince nonsense.”[Kiara]
One night she gasped. “Damien.”
He bolted up. “What? Pain?”
“No.” She took his hand and put it on her belly. “Feel.”
A tiny kick. Against his palm.
Damien froze. Then his whole face cracked into a smile so big it hurt.
“Our daughter,” he whispered. “She’s strong. Like you.”
*Mara * cried and laughed at the same time. “*Luna Kiara*,” she said. “We’ll name her Luna.”[Kiara]
---
*Chapter 44: Hunters*
The peace didn’t last.
Horns in the distance. Royal hunters.
Someone in Saltbrook sold them out for gold.
“Run,” Nara said, shoving a bag in *Mara *’s hands. “They’ll kill the child to end the bloodline.”
*Mara * and Damien ran into the woods, pregnant and desperate. The chain burned with every step.
Archers. Dogs. Damien fought with magic and sword, black veins flaring. But he was holding back. Afraid of hurting the baby.
An arrow whistled past *Mara *’s ear.
Damien roared and threw himself in front of her. The arrow grazed his shoulder.
*Mara * screamed and felt the pain in her own shoulder too.
“Don’t you dare,” she sobbed, dragging him. “Not with her in here.”[Kiara]
They jumped into a river and let the current take them.
---
*Chapter 45: The Cave*
They washed up miles downstream, half drowned.
In a cave, *Mara * collapsed. Contractions.
“No, no, too early,” Damien panicked, holding her. “The baby—”
“I know,” *Mara * gritted out. “She’s scared. I can feel her.”[Kiara]
The chain was glowing bright. The curse was trying to take the baby through the bond.
Damien pressed both hands to *Mara *’s stomach. “Hey, little Luna. It’s me. Daddy. You’re safe. Fight it, okay?”[Kiara]
*Mara * screamed and squeezed his hand. And suddenly the pain split. Half to her, half to him.
He took it. All of it. So she could breathe.
Hours later, a cry.
A baby girl. Dark hair. *Mara *’s eyes. A faint birthmark on her wrist in the shape of the Kiara crown.[Kiara]
Damien cut the cord with his dagger, shaking.
“*Luna Kiara*,” *Mara * whispered, holding her. “We did it.”[Kiara]
The chain around their hearts dimmed. The curse recoiled. It didn’t want the baby. The baby was new. Clean.
---
*Chapter 46: Bloodline Protected*
For 1 month they hid in the cave.
*Mara * healed. Damien barely slept, watching both of them.
*Luna * was quiet. Too quiet. But when *Mara * held her, the black veins on Damien’s arms faded.[Kiara]
The curse couldn’t touch her. She was breaking it just by existing.
One night, Damien said, “We have to end this. For her.”
*Mara * nodded. “Then we go back to the palace. And we finish it.”[Kiara]
---
*Chapter 47: Return*
They walked back to Luna’s gates with *Luna * in a sling.
The entire kingdom was waiting. Army. The old woman. The shadow.
“Step aside,” Damien said. His eyes were black but steady. “This is Princess *Luna Kiara*. Heir to both thrones.”[Kiara]
The crowd murmured. A baby. The prophecy.
The shadow laughed. *“A CHILD? SHE WILL FEED ME FOR CENTURIES.”*
*Mara * stepped forward. “No. She won’t feed anything. Because we’re breaking you. Right now.”[Kiara]
She cut her palm and Damien cut his. They pressed their bleeding hands together, with *Luna *’s tiny hand between them.
3 hearts. 1 blood.
---
*Chapter 48: The Shattering*
Light exploded.
The curse screamed as the bond of 3 burned it out. The chain snapped.
*Mara * felt it leave her chest. Felt Damien go limp beside her, but breathing.[Kiara]
The shadow dissolved with a shriek.
The crystal in the throne room, miles away, turned to dust.
Silence.
*Luna * gurgled in *Mara *’s arms.
---
*Chapter 49: A New Crown*
No more curse. No more chains.
Damien woke hours later. First thing he did was check on *Mara * and *Luna *.[Kiara]
The palace knelt. Not to him. To *Mara *. To the baby.
“Queen *Mara Kiara*,” they said. “And Princess Luna.”[Kiara]
*Mara * held *Luna * up. “We’re not ruling with blood. We’re ruling with this.”[Kiara]
---
*Chapter 50: Epilogue - Home*
1 year later.
Garden. Sunlight.
*Mara * sitting on the throne, but not really. *Luna * was crawling on it, wearing a paper crown.[Kiara]
Damien came in with tea. He had faint scars where the veins used to be.
“Your Majesty,” he teased, bowing to the baby.
*Mara * laughed and pulled him down beside her. Their hands linked. No pain.
*Luna * grabbed both their fingers and smiled.
The kingdom was finally free.
House *Kiara* lived on.
*THE END*
- Writer
